Valhalla

David and I will be there (Rook, Bess, McCloud and Britton in Open / Vic in Nursery). Renee, you'll get in Open with Bette! I know three other East Coast dogs in the top 150 that are not going. Laura, you better come East... we'd love to see you!

Thanks, Julie! This happened on July 4th, so is it quite possible that I could be putting weight on it by August 1st? I was putting weight on it (with the leg brace on) during the week between the ER and the Ortho appt. because the ER doc said no broken bones and for me to put weight on it if I could AND to flex my leg to keep the tendons and ligaments from stiffening. So, I did exactly what I should NOT have been doing. Thank goodness that I did not make the fracture worse by doing that for a week. Needless to say, i am not too pleased with the ER. And no real rest this weekend. Unfortunately, I am by myself until Sunday night taking care of 23 or so dogs. David is doing a clinic in Richmond, VA and left tonight. Usually his brother takes care of the dogs we leave home when we go to a trial, but he is also out of town (so, we also have his two dogs for two weeks). We didn't have room to bring all the dogs with us, so had no choice but for me to stay home. I have the 4 wheeler to go back and forth to the barn, but it is still a pain in the butt to hobble around letting dogs out three or four times a day, cleaning kennels, feeding and watering. I use my crutches to shield my leg when I let the dogs out. I am paranoid that one of them will wham into me and cause the fracture to worsen. David's parents are coming over each day to fill up the water troughs (of course, our automatic waterer broke) and to fill water buckets for the dogs. It's close to impossible to carry a water bucket holding two crutches. I'm sure I'll be whipped by Sunday, but at least I won't be bored sitting around doing nothing.

Kelpiegirl, did you fracture your leg the same way I did? How long did it take before you could put weight on your leg again?

I'll be working my Open dogs (and ONLY my Open dogs) from the 4-wheeler to keep them tuned up for the Finals. Six weeks will be right before the Finals, so I will have no choice but to work them that way. I've not worked dogs in 2 weeks (and yes, it is killing me!).

The Ortho called with the results of my MRI. Good news is that the MCL is only strained (stretched), not torn. Bad news is the lateral tibial plateau IS fractured! So, I can not put weight on my leg for SIX WEEKS! If it was an MCL tear and not fractured, at least I would have been able to put weight on my leg. I will have to go back to the Ortho once a week and have new x-rays taken to check to make sure the fracture is getting better and not spreading (like a crack in a windshield). I'll look on the bright side... #1, I don't have to have surgery and #2, bones heal faster than ligaments! This still sucks though!

Thank you everyone for the well wishes! My knee is feeling better and I am able to hobble around on one crutch from time to time. David allowed me to go down to the barn yesterday and the day before. He brought the kids 50cc ATV up to the house for me to ride down the hill (those of you that went to the Oregon Finals last year probably saw David and I tooling around on this thing to exercise the dogs). It's WAY too small for adults, but if I prop my leg up on the fender it helps a lot. It was great to be at the barn with all the dogs and I even forgave Lady for chasing the sheep into my leg. I FINALLY got an appointment with the Ortho for Wednesday morning at 10am, so keep your fingers crossed. Colin, I won't be trialing until the Finals and if I have to be hobbling around the post there I will. Good luck to all of you heading to Ben's this weekend! I wish I was going to be there, but unfortunately not.

Hi Laura, we did not drill any extra holes as the end of the building that covers our outdoor runs it enclosed. It can get very windy up on top of this hill as well, but we have not had many problems since the end that get the most exposure to the elements is closed in. I imagine you could drill more holes in the blinds? Sorry to hear about your leg.... did you have to get stitches?

Still no word from the Ortho's office and there is not much I can do.... we've called three times in the past two days. A friend of ours is a nurse and she did speak to the Ortho's nurse today and said that I should get in by Tuesday. So, it looks like I'll have to deal with this big brace and not truly knowing what is wrong until then. On a brighter note... I had a wonderful surprise today... Mark and Renee sent me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers! Thanks again you guys - that made my day!

thanks Julie! how are the new living arrangements?

Hi Deb, thanks for the well wishes and the congrats. I have not been on the BC Boards for quite some time now... just no time. I think I'll be posting a bit more now that I am layed up. This really is the pits!

Well, I spent my 4th of July in the emergency room. We were deworming sheep yesterday afternoon and one of the dogs we've had in for training about a week (who, BTW, has NOT been keen) was out with another one of our dogs to see if she'd turn on. Well, that plan worked and she suddenly decided to turn on. After a minute or so of chasing, she was hot on the trail of one of the khatadin's and low and behold... that friggin' ewe decided my knee was the best place to head for. She hit me on the outsude of my knee, at a full run. I remember hearing a loud pop and then having David help me lie down while I was screaming in agony. The emergency room doc diagnosed a tear or partial tear of my medial collateral ligament, so I am in this ridiculous brace thing from my thigh to my ankle. I have yet to hear back from the Ortho's office regarding an appointment, but I am sure I'll need an MRI to accurately diagnose the problem. Keep your fingers crossed that it is not something that will require surgery. I am NOT a good patient and can not be still fro very long. I am terribly bored and hate that i can not go to the barn and take care of all the dogs (David is working two jobs now... his and mine). And yes, be careful when working young dogs! It can be dangerous!

Laura, we got some kennel privacy panels from Priefert. We love ours! They are made of a flexible plastic (1/8" thick). You do have to drill holes in them (which is easy to do), but they come with the fasteners that easily attach the sheet to chain link. http://www.priefert.com/dynamic/product.php?ITEM_NO=KPP10

Stu will be greatly missed. His pain and suffering have been eased and he is now working dogs with the best shepherd there is!

Thanks for posting these Denise! I'd seen a few on your pbase site last year, but not all of them. I wish I could have been there. Was this at Joni's?

I am opposed as well. And Lori is right... this topic comes up whenever there is a waiting list to a big trial. I have given this some thought and considered the option that perhaps it would be good to give the previous year's winner an automatic entry, but that would again make that trial invitational and not a true open trial. The point here is the definition of "open". Christine

3. David Henry & Britton 4. Donald McCaig & june 5. Robin French & Spottie Mark, you're going to have to get yourself a pbase site now! Great shots!

Boy, have I been out of the loop... I didn't even know the Luper's were having a trial!

Thank you. Yes, see you at Tom's! We'll keep our fingers crossed that we don't get those stick-to-you-legs Karakuls. Those things are impossible to shed!

Hi Deb, it was great to see you this past weekend. Glad you made it home safely. I don't have all the placings, but in Open I know Florence Wilson won the first trial at Edgeworth and David Henry was 2nd. The second trial, Carla King won and Polly Matzinger was second. At Seclusival in Open, Lena Bailey won the first trial and Denise Wall with KATE were second. My Bess won the second trial. I think Marilyn Terpstra won both Ranch classes and Linda Tesdahl won one of the Pro Novice classes. At FrontRunner in Open, Rook won the first trial and then Renee Billadeau won the second trial. I don't know about any of the lower classes though. I bet Sam/Robin will be posting results for FrontRunner here soon... whenever they recover from the LONG weekend! As usual, they all did a fantastic job. Thanks for all the hard work!

oops... I meant Mt. Shasta! There were so many gorgeous mountains out there it was easy to get confused!

Anyone have an idea if a running order will be posted?

I took this the day before the Nursery finals started. Mt. Scott is in the background.

We just got home late last night. What a great time! Geri, Amy, Ellen, Francis and the rest of the gang did a tremendous job. Thank you to all of you and to all the volunteers. We are really glad we made the trip out there. And thank you to everyone for the congrats on my baby Tweeder's big accomplishment. I was very surprised when it was announced at the ABCA annual meeting and Mike Neary chuckled at my look of utter shock when they called Tweed's name. Needless to say, after returning to my seat, it really sunk in and I just cried! Those of you that trial, know what a role "the luck of the draw" plays in this game. This finals was so much more black and white as to how the sheep behaved during the day. If you ran before 10am or after 4pm, the sheep were totally different creatures and you had a much better chance of having a good run. Even the guy that owns the sheep that were supplied for the Finals, told me that he himself never works his sheep after 10am as they just do not want to cooperate. I've never seen the time of day affect the sheep as much as they did in Oregon, but then again, it was a lot hotter than usual out there. It sure was a challenge and a lot of fun. Now back to the daily grind...

Hi Julie, yes it is Rook!!! What a great surprise to see this. I've been in internet darkness for months now, so it was a thrill to get to see my boy in action.

Thanks guys!! Since my computer died back in mid-July and then moving... I have been out of touch for far too long. Glad to be back!